Anies Baswedan on IKN: 'Jakarta Issues Must be Resolved Not Abandoned'

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential candidate number 3 Ganjar Pranowo asked candidate number 1 Anies Baswedan about the project to move the national capital city to IKN in East Kalimantan. According to Ganjar, IKN is an Indonesia-centric developmental project aimed at tackling pollution and traffic congestion issues.

Anies answered that the issues in Jakarta must be resolved, not abandoned. "That's the number one philosophy," he said during the first presidential debate live-streamed by Tempodotco on YouTube on Tuesday evening.

Thus, Anies went on, when Jakarta was faced with environmental issues, traffic issues, and population density, they must be resolved first. Leaving Jakarta and moving the state capital elsewhere will not automatically rectify the present issues.

According to Anies, civil state apparatus only contributed 4 to 7 percent of traffic congestion in Jakarta. Thus, moving the capital city to IKN will not solve the issue, same with environmental problems. As long as businesses and communities reside in Jakarta, Anies said, the issues will not disappear by themselves.

"Therefore, we believe the issues in Jakarta must be resolved with the development of public transportation and parks," he said.

The public transportation must be electric-based, creating a comfortable, secure, and healthy Jakarta. "Don't take a page from the Dutch government, where they leave Kota Tua for Monas in the south when the land subsided. The problem was not resolved, but we must face it head-on," he added.

Kalimantan has more pressing problems rather than IKN, according to Anies. Among them are inter-city railways and repairing damaged schools. On the other hand, IKN is developed to become a place of work for civil state apparatus. "Not for the people and not an economic center either," he said.

Ganjar then asked, "may I conclude that [Anies] opposes continuing the development of IKN?"

Meanwhile, Anies Baswedan believed IKN is one of the projects that bypassed an adequate public dialogue in its conception. But when the IKN Law was promulgated, those critical of it were called opposition, and everyone approving of it was believed to be pro-government.

"Why? Because there was no comprehensive discussion [beforehand] giving a space for public opinion. This is a state of law not a state of power," he said.

"If today [the government] is unable to provide fertilizers [for the people] and yet at the same time building a palace for the president, is that justice?" he concluded.

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI

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